Tour Stop & Book Review: The Main Ingredient by Margo Wilson

What does it mean to love? How does one defy death? And will
people pay good money for your Friday night fish fry? These are some of the
mysteries facing West Coast food editor Wendy Whitby when she reluctantly
returns to her childhood home in Weewampum, Wis., to await her mother’s demise.
But cantankerous Seal (Cecilia) refuses to pass into the Great Beyond according
to schedule. While Wendy waits for Seal to expire, Wendy begrudgingly helps out
her two high school pals, flamboyant Amber Moore and reticent Merribeth
Hartwell, who have opened a restaurant in downtown Weewampum.

Wendy and her friends soon are embroiled in their hometown’s
political feuds. Some of the well-heeled citizens, including Merribeth’s
father, have decided they want to close the town’s hospital downtown and move
it to a spiffy building along the interstate. But the women feel the downtown
will deteriorate even further if the old hospital shuts its doors, so their
restaurant, Amberosia’s, becomes the headquarters of the Stop the Hospital Move
campaign.

After Amberosia’s burns to the ground, the women are
convinced someone set the fire to scare them off because they oppose the
hospital move. However, Fire Marshal Warren Caramel suspects the women torched
the place to collect the insurance money. The threesome realize they’ll have to
solve the arson case themselves to avoid spending the best years of their lives
in Waysippee State Prison for Women.

As their arson investigation opens old wounds, causes new
ones, and reveals secrets that maybe should have been left concealed, the women
are forced to grapple with such issues as: How much does a friend do for a
friend? How far does family allegiance go? What is the price of family, and
especially, mother-daughter love? What are the magnetic and repelling forces of
one’s hometown? And, of course, how much will someone pay for a plateful of
fried lake perch?

My Review

Oh,
goodness. The Main Ingredient had me feeling ALL the feelings. Margo Wilson has
done a remarkable job in creating a family drama that includes a handful of
suspense and mystery.

The
best friend threesome – Amber, Wendy, and Merribeth – have been close since
adolescence, and even closer as adults with mature responsibilities. I couldn’t
help but smile as I read the way they talked and interacted with each other.
Wilson hit the nail on the head with her accurate portrayal of this friendship
dynamic.

This
lovely story is sure to give you the warm fuzzies, while also keeping you on the
edge of your seat as you attempt to solve the mystery of who burned down
Amber’s restaurant, the Amberosia's, and walk with Wendy as she communicates with
her mother, Seal, through an odd relationship and Seal’s cancer treatments.
Finally, baby Star - the light that holds them together.

When Margo Wilson was 3 years old, she thought an elevator
operator was about to squish her imaginary friends, Keke and Frick, in a
department store’s elevator doors, so she screamed for the operator to free
them. The operator complied, while Margo’s mom shook her head, and Margo beamed
like a superhero. The incident still is the ultimate example of how Margo’s
imagination influenced reality, and it helped hook Margo on the power of
inventing her own world.

But the daughter of a police officer and elementary school
teacher is nothing if not practical, so Margo chose to be a journalist, a
career in which facts and information, presented in compelling ways, often have
a chance to influence others’ actions. Margo worked as a staff writer and
editor at nine newspapers, ranging from the Spruce Grove Star, in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, to the Los Angeles Times. Her words led to the defeat of a
racist school board member, the resignation of some greedy community college
administrators, and publicity for an unknown recording artist who later became
one of Margo’s best friends. Margo learned that words have power.

She also learned that words have beauty. So she returned to
school (Goddard College) to polish her creative writing skills and as a result,
landed a job teaching writing at California University of Pennsylvania and
snagged a book contract with Ramsfield Press.

These
days, she’s working on a memoir about travel and taking a journey, and a series
of novels about a dog who ... well, let’s leave that a secret.Although she grew
up in Wisconsin, Margo has lived in Indiana, Canada, and California. She makes
her home in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with her flat-haired retriever (Well,
maybe that’s what she is. The vet is not sure.) Moosie, and her cats Oreo,
Lucy, ChaCha, and Mimi. They are forever using their imaginations to devise new
ways to persuade Margo to feed them or pet them.